Guest post: How does that work?
Originally a comment by Sastra on Calling all bullies.
Oftentimes, and more often than not, this antisocial, vile rhetoric and drive stems from “deeply-held’ religious convictions.
How does that work?
“Is homosexuality a sin?” This is a question about religious morality. “Are people who claim to be homosexual not really attracted or aroused by others of the same sex?” This is a fact question which never really came up. Religious people took it for granted because the truth of it was established in the common ground of human experience.
“Is being transgender a sin?” Religious. “Are people born with an inner conviction of what sex they are and is this a more reliable indicator of their actual sex than their reproductive system?” Fact question from common ground which has not been established. It doesn’t matter if the religious parrot something about “God made men and women.” They think God made the mountains and lakes. Believing there are mountains and lakes is not a Deeply Held Religious Conviction if you’re not religious.
The stubborn refusal to examine concepts and arguments in order to separate religious from secular is far, far too common among atheists and humanists. The temptation to deal with opponents using the familiar, easy tactics of arguing for atheism is apparently too strong for them.
That men are women if they say so is the “deeply held religious belief” of the transgender cult. Accuse others of what you’re doing yourself.
@maddog1129
Indeed. Here are other suggestive examples:
1) Gender Identity — the deep inner conviction that one is a man or woman — cannot be described. It has no parts, no elements, no attributes, no developmental history. It is not dependent on biology or cultural expectations and stereotypes. It’s different for everyone. It’s a Knowingness which can only be experienced by the person who has it, and is completely trustworthy.
2.) The definitions of “man” and “woman” are too complex and nuanced to be defined. We cannot say what they are; we can only say what they are not.
3.) Everyone knows that Gender Identity exists and is the only reasonable way to decide who’s a man or woman. Those who claim to not believe in it — who insist it doesn’t exist — are in rebellion against its implications, and likely driven by hate.
4.) When someone recognizes that they’re not the sex assigned to them at birth, they experience an awareness of their world that was hidden to them before. It’s a great Awakening.
5.) Undergoing the physical suffering of transitioning often leads to release and euphoria.
6.) We cannot convince someone intellectually unless they are receptive emotionally. The two most important qualities for accepting the truth of innate transgender identities are openness and compassion.
7.) The fact that suffering people feel better when they’re treated as the gender they know themselves to be is evidence that they’re right. If people need it to be happy, it should not be questioned.
8.) God is male, though He has no reproductive role or even a body. We therefore were created to know that such “mental sex” is possible.
That last one, however, would not be used by a humanist who thinks objections to “mental sex” are usually religious.